Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are here to talk about Spider-Man 2 for its 20th anniversary.
Spider-Man 2 is a superhero film directed by Sam Raimi. It is based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It opened in theaters on June 30, 2004.
In the film, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) regrets keeping Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) at a distance to protect her from Spider-Man’s enemies. His newest foe is Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), a scientist turned into a villain when an experiment goes wrong. Peter also finds himself at odds with his friend Harry (James Franco), who blames Spider-Man for killing his father (Willem Dafoe).
The film also stars: Rosemary Harris (Aunt May), Donna Murphy (Rosie Octavius), J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson), Daniel Gillies (John Jameson), Dylan Baker (Dr. Curt Connors), Elizabeth Banks (Betty Brant), Bill Nunn (Robbie Robertson). It also features small appearances from: Daniel Dae Kim, Emily Deschanel, Joey “Coco” Diaz, Donnell Rawlings, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Phil LaMarr, Peyton List, Reed Diamond, Hal Sparks, Joel McHale, Aasif Mandavi, Vanessa Ferlito, Cliff Robertson and Christine Estabrook.
This was the third highest-grossing film of 2004, raking in $789 million on a $200 million budget. It earned rave reviews, with the American Film Institute naming it one of the 10 best films of the year. At the Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing and won for Best Visual Effects.
Aaron and Josh discuss their histories with the film before going into the plot, performances, humor, effects, action, and legacy.
To hear about the first film, you can listen the brothers’ Spider-Man podcast with Managing Editor Al Mannarino.
